A day chilling on the shores of Khövsgöl Nuur
It was lovely to wake up today and decide not to bike anywhere. There have been discussions last night about the idea of heading further up the shore today but Jenna was not feeling well and I did not really want to go anywhere and so we just decided to stay.
I braved the freezing cold waters of the lake to go and wash my hair. I did not want to get any shampoo in the water and so I filled up bottles and then just rinsed my hair way from the shore. I was in the middle of my "shower" when some wealthy Mongolians from UB came up to say hello. Their English was really good and they wanted to chat. I found it quite surreal that I was standing there soaking wet with soap in my hair talking to people. They did not seem to find it strange.
There were some Mongolians fishing in boats and one of the fish fell over board. It was wiggling so I tried to put it back in the water to revive it but it died very quickly - so I cooked it for breakfast...
In the afternoon we needed some supplies of some wine and beer, veg and some meat for a BBQ. Jenna had gone yesterday and so it was Andy's and my turn. Jenna had managed to get some beer from one of the local tourist Ger camps and so we thought that we would manage to do the same and that it would only be about 3km to travel. Unfortunately, none of them would sell us what we needed and we ended up biking further and further away from our camp. Having been on my bike so much recently the last thing I wanted to do was bike anywhere. I just wanted a chilled day by the lake. Andy was very happy to bike however and he kindly offered to continue to Hatgal town and pick up everything we needed. I was very grateful. I biked back and really enjoyed faffing with photos on my laptop and reading a book for a few hours in the forest. It was very peaceful.
Looking at all of the tourist Ger camps on the way I was so glad to be exploring Mongolia by bike. Most of the tourists that arrive in UB make their way up to the lake to stay in a "real" Ger. There are so many around the lake though that you do not get a feel for the remoteness of Mongolia. Nor do you get to experience the Mongolian culture where you can just turn up at a Ger in the middle of no-where and be given accommodation, food and shelter by the owners. Mongolians have survived in this harsh environment with this system. It means that people do not have to carry everything that they need to survive to cross large distances on horse back. They do not have to be independent. The idea of paying for accommodation in a Ger camp is almost against the whole idea/culture. I would always offer money when I stayed but it was very rarely accepted. The tourist Ger camps did not have the same feeling about them as the Ger camps where normal Mongolians lived. They did not have the funky decor either.
Andy came back with the food and some beer and wine at about 5 and I cooked some rice and mutton with eggs and veg on the camp fire. It was healthy and very tasty.
Jenna was feeling ill and decided not to drink her beer leaving more Andy and me with 2 bottles of wine.
I was glad when Pete came alone to help me drink it. Pete (a German) was walking along the lake shore and saw our camp fire so came to say hello. It turned out that he was also cycling in Mongolia but unlike us was easing himself in for the first 3 weeks (of a 6 week trip) with a guide, a driver and a support van! Needless to say I had to take the piss a little... but was also slightly jealous of the idea of not having to carry every thing you need, having someone else erect my tent for me, cook breakfast and diner when I stopped riding and not to have to worry about my bike braking with no support in the middle of nowhere. However, it does take away the excitement and the spontaneity somewhat.
It was a lovely chilled day and a fun drunken evening chatting about biking with fellow enthusiasts.
It was lovely to wake up today and decide not to bike anywhere. There have been discussions last night about the idea of heading further up the shore today but Jenna was not feeling well and I did not really want to go anywhere and so we just decided to stay. 
I braved the freezing cold waters of the lake to go and wash my hair. I did not want to get any shampoo in the water and so I filled up bottles and then just rinsed my hair way from the shore. I was in the middle of my "shower" when some wealthy Mongolians from UB came up to say hello. Their English was really good and they wanted to chat. I found it quite surreal that I was standing there soaking wet with soap in my hair talking to people. They did not seem to find it strange. 
There were some Mongolians fishing in boats and one of the fish fell over board. It was wiggling so I tried to put it back in the water to revive it but it died very quickly - so I cooked it for breakfast... 
In the afternoon we needed some supplies of some wine and beer, veg and some meat for a BBQ. Jenna had gone yesterday and so it was Andy's and my turn. Jenna had managed to get some beer from one of the local tourist Ger camps and so we thought that we would manage to do the same and that it would only be about 3km to travel. Unfortunately, none of them would sell us what we needed and we ended up biking further and further away from our camp. Having been on my bike so much recently the last thing I wanted to do was bike anywhere. I just wanted a chilled day by the lake. Andy was very happy to bike however and he kindly offered to continue to Hatgal town and pick up everything we needed. I was very grateful. I biked back and really enjoyed faffing with photos on my laptop and reading a book for a few hours in the forest. It was very peaceful.Looking at all of the tourist Ger camps on the way I was so glad to be exploring Mongolia by bike. Most of the tourists that arrive in UB make their way up to the lake to stay in a "real" Ger. There are so many around the lake though that you do not get a feel for the remoteness of Mongolia. Nor do you get to experience the Mongolian culture where you can just turn up at a Ger in the middle of no-where and be given accommodation, food and shelter by the owners. Mongolians have survived in this harsh environment with this system. It means that people do not have to carry everything that they need to survive to cross large distances on horse back. They do not have to be independent. The idea of paying for accommodation in a Ger camp is almost against the whole idea/culture. I would always offer money when I stayed but it was very rarely accepted. The tourist Ger camps did not have the same feeling about them as the Ger camps where normal Mongolians lived. They did not have the funky decor either.
Andy came back with the food and some beer and wine at about 5 and I cooked some rice and mutton with eggs and veg on the camp fire. It was healthy and very tasty.Jenna was feeling ill and decided not to drink her beer leaving more Andy and me with 2 bottles of wine.
I was glad when Pete came alone to help me drink it. Pete (a German) was walking along the lake shore and saw our camp fire so came to say hello. It turned out that he was also cycling in Mongolia but unlike us was easing himself in for the first 3 weeks (of a 6 week trip) with a guide, a driver and a support van! Needless to say I had to take the piss a little... but was also slightly jealous of the idea of not having to carry every thing you need, having someone else erect my tent for me, cook breakfast and diner when I stopped riding and not to have to worry about my bike braking with no support in the middle of nowhere. However, it does take away the excitement and the spontaneity somewhat.
It was a lovely chilled day and a fun drunken evening chatting about biking with fellow enthusiasts.
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